Other News In Brief

PM Must Stop Toying With Families Over Energy Payments – SDLP

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak must stop toying with families over energy support payments, SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood has said.

He was speaking after Mr Sunak said people would receive the £600 payment this winter and an announcement would be made soon.

Mr Eastwood said people need clarity, not more broken promises from a Tory government that has failed to deliver during the cost of living emergency.

Foyle MP Mr Eastwood said: "Families in the North are fed up with being messed around when it comes to the £600 energy support payment that they desperately need. Since this payment was first mooted we have had various dates bandied about and multiple broken promises from the DUP and the British government on when people could expect it, what we need now is absolute clarity on when this money will be paid to people here.

"Today's announcement from the Prime Minister will raise the hopes of many people across the North who have already waited far too long for this payment. Many are struggling to afford presents to put under the Christmas tree, the elderly are being forced to ration heat in their homes and parents are skipping meals so that their children can eat. Talk is cheap, we can have no more false dawns and we need the PM to get on with delivering this money to those who need it."

UUP MLA Alan Chambers Joins Nurses On Bangor Picket Line

Ulster Unionist Party's Health Spokesperson Alan Chambers has given his support for striking nurses when he joined a picket line in Bangor.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Chambers said: "I was happy to stand in support of an official Royal College of Nurses picket line at Bangor Community Hospital this morning.

"During my time there I witnessed overwhelming public support for their action. Many gifts of food and beverages were being handed to them by generous members of the public.

"None of the staff were happy that they had been forced into taking such drastic action at this time. Rather than enduring the freezing conditions on the picket line they would all rather have been in their place of work providing the high level of care for their patients that we are so aware and grateful for.

"Listening to their stories it was obvious that this strike is not just about pay but also about the conditions that they have to deal with on a daily basis. They have major concerns over patient safety in hospital emergency departments, they feel no one is listening to them and strike action is their weapon of last resort.

"Retention of the current workforce should be a major obligation on local trusts. The welfare of staff, especially our valued overseas recruits, should be paramount rather than an attitude of just get on with it.

"Ward ratio of nurses to patients is also higher than is fair to nurses who carry the responsibility if things go wrong in the daily care of patients. These are all issues that are causing concern on top of cost of living pressures.

"There is an acceptance that many of these issues can't be fixed in the short term but NHS staff want to see a political road map created that will plot a way forward. It is a matter of huge frustration that reform of the NHS will remain stalled while the Assembly is in cold storage with no Executive in place. The nurses want to see political leadership provided as soon as possible.

"Former Health Minister Robin Swann MLA was putting many elements of that road map in place but was denied the opportunity to finish the job by the collapse of the Executive and a lack of political support from some quarters in relation to much needed reform of how NHS services are delivered."

Martin Property Group Buys Scottish Mutual Building

L'Derry-based property developer, the Martin Property Group, has completed the purchase of the Scottish Mutual Building in Belfast city centre.

The Scottish Mutual Building has been under development for a George Best-themed hotel, but the development collapsed when the developer, Lawrence Kenwright, entered administration in 2020.

Initially the building could not be sold due to a legal dispute with small investors, however, it was cleared for sale in June this year, following a High Court ruling.

The Martin Property Group has said it plans to develop its own ""high-end boutique hotel" in the building.